Over 4kg Gold, Rs 1.6 Crore Cash Seized in Crackdown on Highway Smuggling

 Tirupati: In a crackdown on gold smuggling on the highways, the police seized over 4.3kg of crude gold and confiscated Rs 1.61 crore in cash from gangs illegally transporting these in Nellore and Prakasam districts.

The seizures were made at different locations on Wednesday and Thursday.

Acting on a tip-off about a smuggling racket transporting gold from Chennai to Miryalaguda, Nellore district's Kavali Rural PS circle inspector Srinivasa Rao led a team to conduct vehicle inspections at the Musunuru Toll Plaza in the early hours of Thursday morning. During the search operation, five women – T Sumati, E Tejashree, Shaik Parvin, D Yadamma and B Shivamma – were arrested with over `1.61 crore in cash from a Chennai-bound bus. They were on their way to purchase gold, police said.

On the same day, two persons -- B Mohan from Ongole and P Prabhakar from Vijayawada -- were caught red-handed while transporting 1.497kg of gold biscuits worth around `1 crore from Chennai to Miryalaguda by car. They were arrested and the gold seized.

On Wednesday night at the Venkatachalam Toll Plaza in Nellore district, CI Ankama Rao and his team seized 1.658 kg of gold from a car coming from Chennai, as the consignment did not have “proper documentation.” Its occupants, Vanshi and Raja, hailing from Telangana, were detained.

In a separate operation in Prakasam district, police conducted vehicle inspections at the Tangutur Toll Plaza on Thursday night. They seized over 1kg of gold and `58,000 in cash from a car without proper documents. A couple, M Mallesh and Chandrakala, who were transporting the gold to Miryalaguda, “failed to give satisfactory explanation” when questioned, the police claimed.

“The seized gold and cash are secured as evidence. The detained/arrested individuals are undergoing interrogation," a senior police officer said.